Universal Studios Frankenstein's Monster Mask

Hand-painted Boris Karloff Frankenstein's Monster Mask

This is the classic look for the creature created by Dr Frankenstein. Each mask is unique, as they are all painted by hand.

Forget how Mary Shelley described the creature in her Gothic novel. Everybody else did, as soon as Boris Karloff put on his make-up and lumbered onto the silver screen.

Frankenstein's monster was forever set in the public and cultural mind as Karloff portrayed him.

Now Rubie's Costume Company have an official license from Universal Studies to copy that look.

Their special edition mask is made out of latex. Hidden foam inserts help boost that high forehead and keep the eye holes in place.

No two are exactly the same, though they are all following the same basic coloring. These masks are all hand-painted. I've included two views of it accordingly, so you can gain some idea of what you might receive. Recently, the green pallor has been used far more than the gray.

This Boris Karloff's creature mask is so realistic that many people display it, rather than wearing it. Indeed partying all night with it on your head has been described as 'stuffy'. The pursed lips remain in that slit, so eating and drinking through them isn't feasible.

Nevertheless, this is the best Frankenstein's monster mask out there; and it's certainly stunning to behold!

New Pumpkin Mask

Mind-Blowing New Pumpkin Head Mask for Halloween

And you thought that the Jack O'Lantern was the most frightening vegetable out on the streets tonight.

One with an expensive price tag here, but I am picking out the best Halloween masks! Quality too often comes with the downside of a hard hit to your credit card.

I love a company name which just says what it is. Halloween Masks manufactures this incredible New Pumpkin head latex face-mask. It's one of their latest creations, so you won't find too many people already wearing them. (At that price, you'll find even fewer!)

The detail is unreal. Just check out the paint-work inside the gourd strands. Hidden inside, elasticated straps and foam inserts keep this in place.

There are more pumpkin masks included in the adult pumpkin costume article.

Death Skull Mask Halloween Accessory

Moving Jaw Grim Reaper Skeleton Mask

The Death Skull mask is truly astounding in its realism.

The picture shows too much of the black lining, but on the streets, that simply seems like darkness. Moreover, it makes it very easy to breathe, which side-steps an issue encountered in many other Halloween masks!

Concealed elastic straps hug your jaw-line. When you speak, the mask's mouth moves accordingly, which is stunning to behold.

The skull crown and jaw is actually made out of latex, though it looks like bone. That makes it more light-weight to wear than may be apparent.

Fixing a hood to the back (just stick it in place with a bit of tape, so that you're not covering your glorious skull mask) will instantly turn this into a Grim Reaper mask.

Devil Skull Mask

Multi-Horned Halloween Mask Devil Skull

'Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.'

So a mere skeleton wasn't scary enough for you, eh? Add even more horror with this Satanic creation from Forum Novelties Inc.

Another latex Halloween mask, the Devil Skull has so much fine detail! There are twenty horns arranged around its crown, jowls and chin. You can see the paintwork for yourself.

But the detail which I found most intriguing was the eyes. In most Halloween masks, the eyes gazing back at you are very human. In many ways, that adds to the horror, because it's you, but altered irrevocably into something Other.

In this Satanic skull mask, the eyes themselves are changed, but the rest remains so very humanoid. That's scary, perhaps even more so than the rest.

Unfortunately, that ghastly detail has led to some people struggling to see through the mesh. If you are searching for something that looks stunning, and you have someone on hand to keep you out of the way of moving vehicles, then this might be the one.

Gaping Wraith Mask | Screaming Ghost Latex Mask

Haunting Gauze Covered Ghostly Wraith Mask

Close enough to Ghost Face from 'Scream', this phantom strikes out alone along horror-filled pathways.

I'll admit that I struggled somewhat in choosing a decent Halloween ghost mask.

Most people don't bother. It's so much easier to bleach out their faces with pan-stick and a heavy application of kohl. Those who do go for a face-mask tend to opt for the usual Ghost Face from Wes Craven's Scream movies.

That is very effective. Everyone would know who you are. But its very popularity has made it too common. You wouldn't stand out from the crowd.

This fully over-the-head latex mask by Morris Costumes is very reminiscent of Ghost Face. There's the same elongated jaw and the horrific screaming aspect, but that's where the similarity ends.

I loved the detail of the floating gauze over the wraith-like skull. It didn't hurt that this specter and I have the same hair-style! (Though I like to think that my dreadlocks are a little less sparse.)

I often think that the most horrific face of all is one terrified of something which you can't see. This ghost is screaming. He or she is reacting to some horror of which you are currently ignorant. But you'll find out soon enough.

Howl-O-Ween Adult Werewolf Mask

Realistic Werewolf Mask with Moving Muzzle

'Even the man who is pure of heart...'

Zagone Studios really went to town with their latex Howl-O-Ween adult mask.

You can see for yourself the snarling visage and fine detail. But you can't see the network of straps and foam inserts within. They combine to turn this mask into a second skin, allowing the muzzle to move with your mouth.

In truth, I don't consider this to be the best wolf man mask on Amazon, as per the remit. That honor belongs to those in the Killer Werewolf and She-Werewolf costumes. I've discounted them here solely because they cannot be bought separately to the set.

We are looking only at masks here!

That said, I did find it incredibly difficult to choose in this category. There are too many brilliant face-masks for werewolf costumes out there, which soon whittled away at my resolve to highlight only the absolutely out-standing one.

I had a choice of three wolfman masks. Have a look at my runners up to see if you think that I jumped in the right direction.

The Runners Up! Two Amazing Werewolf Masks

What do you think? Did I choose wisely or plum for totally the wrong one?

Moonshined Wolf Mask

Deluxe Werewolf Mask

The Moonshined Wolf Mask has received five stars from all verified purchasers. One person commented that he scared his dog so much, while wearing it, that the poor mutt hid shivering in a bathroom for an hour!

It nearly won. It nearly made pride of place in the werewolf category. Hidden features include a strap, which allows the muzzle to move with your mouth. Foam inserts and further straps help to mould this large mask around the contours of your skull.

So why did it lose out? I wasn't sure about those eye-holes. They give the game away, because you can instantly tell that it's a mask. Someone with a clever cosmetics brush could probably deal with that, but I was aiming for self-contained realism.

The Deluxe Werewolf Mask is one of the most popular chooses on Amazon. It certainly looks the part! On sheer visage alone, this was the obvious number one in the genre.

But what you see is only what you get. There's no muzzle moving with your mouth, which would make this a very static affair. Also some commentators have noted that the reality doesn't match up to the picture.

It's a stuffy mask to wear, as you both breathe and see through holes secreted in the mouth.

Plenty of people have selected this high quality mask, but the surrounding issues sounded to me like a third place behind the other two. Do you agree?

Dracula Mask | Vampire Mask

Corpse-like Dracula Mask Fresh from the Grave

For those of you who don't want to go down the sexy living dead route, this is the mask for you.

Most people don't bother with a Halloween mask for a vampire costume. The alluring, sexy blood-sucker meme is too much in vogue.

You can do that much better with simple cosmetics.

However, the seductive vampire thing is a very 20th century invention. We had aristocratic and hypnotic back with John Polidori in the 19th century, which reached its zenith with Bram Stoker's Dracula.

But no-one actually fancied a vampire until the likes of Anne Rice and Stephanie Meyer started to put pen to paper.

For all of those centuries before, vampires looked like the living dead. They were corpses, animated with sentience and blood. This Halloween mask harks straight back to the beginning. No-one could look at you in this and think anything but horror.

It's billed as a Dracula Halloween Mask, but I'd still take that as being in the most generic form. Rustling open the pages of Bram Stoker's seminal Gothic tale here, I read,

'His eyebrows were thick and bushy, almost meeting over his nose, which was long and thin. His mouth, partly hidden under the heavy mustache, was fixed and rather cruel-looking, with sharp white teeth protruding over the lips. His ears were pale and the tops were extremely pointed; his chin was broad and strong and his cheeks firm but thin.'Dracula by Bram Stoker

Looking back at the Dracula Mask, it doesn't fit that bill. Nevertheless, it's still a stunning vampire face-mask for your Halloween costume.

Mind you, I was looking specifically at Dracula until now. He deserved an honorable mention as the world's most famous blood-sucker of all time (give or take a generation growing up on Edward Cullen).

It doesn't beat what has to be the greatest horror mask available in the overall vampire category.

Vampiren Mask

Vampire Mask Hand Made to Order

This is the sort of Halloween mask which most of us can only dream about owning!

Extremely pricey, this latex Vampiren Mask can only be for connoisseurs.

Indeed, it was created by Midnight Studios, a company who more usually fixes masks and make up for movies and theme parks.

No two of their products are exactly the same, as they are each hand made to order. While the latex base may utilize the same mold, the paintwork is applied when a purchase is made. Often this is in consultation with the customer.

Wicked Witch Mask

Cackling Witch Mask Accessory for Halloween

Hubble, bubble, toil and trouble! The crone is laughing over her cauldron tonight!

Really there wasn't that much selection in the witch category; and the majority weren't anything to write home about.

I've largely taken the best of a bad lot here, rather than finding a Halloween witch mask with the wow factor. Therefore I'm not at all precious about it being here. If anyone wants to suggest one better, I would be happy to substitute it.

That said, I am doing Morris Costume's Witch Mask a disservice by association! It's not at all bad, just not stunning in the way that many of the masks above have been.

As with the majority of truly great Halloween masks, this witch has been crafted out of latex. She follows the traditional attributes of the Crone, complete with green skin straight from the Wizard of Oz's Wicked Witch of the West.

If there is a distinctly human face to Halloween, then she most definitely is it.

But then, that was soooo last year. This Halloween, we have a bright, new contender. And by bright, I mean dark, scary and absolutely devilish. Rubies Costume Co. have pulled out several stops, and not stinted on the eye of newt either, for their 2014 Evil Witch Mask.

The Triple Goddess is a major deity in Wicca. She is a single being, who is viewed as three divine women: Maiden, Mother and Crone.

Thus we come to the end of our run through the ghastly and the great amongst the Halloween masks this season on Amazon. Did I choose correctly? Any dissent there? Please do leave a comment to let me know!

Yes, I really did. There were so many more masks which could have been included, but I wanted to choose only the very best in each category.

Makes you want to buy them all, doesn't it? I certainly wouldn't stop, if I was rich enough!

Jackie
on 10/15/2012

Wow, each mask on there made me think "that's fantastic, it's got to be the best!"... until I saw the next one, and the next one. All in all though, the Pumpkin one was the most unique and fascinating. It's so detailed!Great collection of masks, you must have had fun researching!